The invention relates to a pressure-reducing valve having a valve housing, in the housing interior of which is provided a valve carrier which has at least one through-flow channel, and having a pot-shaped valve body which is guided displaceably from an open position into a closed position in opposition to a restoring force, in which closed position the valve body abuts by way of the circumferential edge of its pot shape in such a manner against a valve seat, which is provided on the valve carrier, that the valve body closes at least one channel opening of the at least one through-flow channel, wherein at least one retaining sleeve is arranged on the valve carrier or on the valve body, wherein a stop, which interacts with a counter stop on the retaining pin in such a manner that in the open position of the pressure-reducing valve, the stop and the counter stop delimit the sliding distance of the valve body relative to the valve carrier, is provided on the retaining sleeve, and wherein the valve carrier has a valve carrier portion, on which is provided an annular seal by way of which the valve body portion abuts sealingly against the housing inside circumference of the valve housing.
Sanitary showers, which comprise a shower head with a large-format shower area which supports a large number of comparatively small shower openings, are increasingly popular. A shower, which is formed from a plurality of fine threadlike individual streams, can be created by means of such showers. A disadvantage, however, is that the shower openings, which have a comparatively small internal cross section, can easily close as a result of limescale and dirt deposits. As the number of closed shower openings increases, there is a heightened risk that the water flowing into the shower head builds up a pressure there which can cause the shower head to deform and ultimately break. Pressure-reducing valves, which limit the water pressure in the pipe portion located downstream of the pressure-reducing valve to a fixed maximum value, have already been created in order not to allow the water pressure to increase in such a manner that at least individual flow-conducting components are likely to burst.
Thus, a pressure-reducing valve of the type named in the introduction, which is insertable into a water pipe, has already been disclosed in EP 1 482 389 B1. The disclosed pressure-reducing valve comprises a valve housing, in the housing interior of which is provided a pot-shaped valve body. The disclosed pressure-reducing valve has a valve carrier in which at least one through-flow channel is provided. The pot-shaped valve body is guided displaceably under the pressure of the traversing medium from an open position into a closed position in opposition to a restoring force, in which closed position the valve body abuts by way of the circumferential edge of its pot shape in such a manner against a valve seat, which is provided on the valve carrier, that the valve body closes at least one channel outlet of the at least one through-flow channel. If the water pressure in the pipe portion located upstream of the pressure-reducing valve exceeds a certain water pressure, the valve body is slid and pressed in such a manner over the valve carrier that the at least one channel opening of the at least one through-flow channel is increasingly closed. In this case, a restoring force, which is applied by a compression spring or by a gas cushion enclosed in the valve body, acts on the valve body. The design of the disclosed pressure-reducing valve has many parts and is complex. Due to the restoring element required as restoring force, there is the risk of the valve carrier and the valve body being pressed apart from one another and the disclosed pressure-reducing valve disintegrating into its component parts. As a result, the mounting of the disclosed pressure-reducing valve is made even more difficult.
US 2012/0138839 discloses a valve which can be inserted into a sanitary supply pipe. The valve comprises a valve housing, a valve carrier and a displaceable valve body. A through-flow can be closed off by means of the valve body, the sliding distance of the valve body relative to the valve carrier is limited as a result of the interaction between a stop and a counter stop.
Consequently, the object, in particular, is to create a pressure-reducing valve of the type mentioned in the introduction which is distinguished by its simplified mounting.